UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is calling on political leaders, practitioners, communities, the private sector and the media to take concrete action to achieve sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation.
The Drive to 2015 Campaign was established through a UN General Assembly Resolution adopted in December 2010 in response to the urgent need for accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goal sanitation target. It is a global advocacy campaign that aims to:
1. Increase awareness about the importance of ensuring sustainable sanitation for all and prompt appropriate action. It advocates for an equity-based approach that focuses on the poorest and most marginalized populations.
2. Keep sanitation at the centre of development discussions at national and international levels.
3. Promote informed debate and decision-making about the funding, implementation and monitoring of sustainable sanitation programmes.
The Drive to 2015 grew out of an initiative within the United Nations. The Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation proposed the idea and called on others working in a range of sectors to join the effort. UN-Water, the association of all UN entities working on water and sanitation issues, is coordinating the work. A number of civil society groups around the globe have pledged their support.
Only through combining all efforts of those who are working on the problem and winning new supporters, will there be hope that we can achieve the MDG sanitation target in 2015.